The Charm of a Plastic Paradise Bali, Indonesia

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

INDONESIA | Thursday, 20 June 2013 | Views [288] | View Larger Image

To escape the bells and whistles, I spent one month living in a small villa in a quiet local area of southern Bali. With bits and pieces of my novice Bahasa Indonesia, I befriended this shy but friendly family who came knocking on my door in search of house-keeping work one day. Though my villa required little maintenance, I invited them to do some cleaning in exchange for a small fee. Even though they had offered their services, I felt inexplicably unsatisfied with the arrangement. Along with their monetary payment, I rounded up a bag of clothes, notebooks, pens, candies and rice, and offered it to them with more compassion than gratitude. This was the day that I realized Bali isn’t just a wonderland of self-indulgence. More than a tourist playground, it is a homeland - a reality that is too often overlooked.

With a little bit of haggling, your every whim can be catered to for an absurdly reasonable price in Bali. Even as I walked the streets of the famed Ubud, the 'cultural hub' of Bali, I was never more than a few meters away from resort-style accommodation, shopping extravaganzas and celebrity worthy pampering of all sorts. Holy temples and souvenir shops stood side-by-side. The sidewalks were lined with friendly locals wearing mundane uniforms and making half-hearted sales pitches for hair baths and body massages. Fancy restaurants boasted 'authentic western cuisine'. The ancient Monkey Rainforest was littered with trash and mischievous monkeys baring their teeth and pick-pocketting. I couldn't help but feel that I had been gypped, as if the widely advertised 'cultural experience' was hidden by a parade of cheap bells and whistles.

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I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy the affordable luxuries and the 'happy happy' moments of my time in Bali, but I realize now that those cheap fixes come with hidden costs. As the mass tourism continues, the grandeur of the natural landscape is obscured by a spectacle of scenery and ornament; the sanctity of tradition is disregarded and put on display; the genuine warmth and spirit of the local people is veiled by a curtain of commercial hospitality. In essence, the true beauty of the Balinese experience is quickly being eclipsed by the convenience of an affordable holiday. While the social and environmental implications of Bali's visitor influx are beginning to make international headlines more frequently, the benefits of the tourism industry have been undeniable. Will Bali find a way to strike a healthy balance between tourism dollars and natural riches, or will the island become yet another disposable paradise?

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The Charm of a Plastic Paradise Bali, Indonesia

My Scholarship entry - A 'place' I have visited

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